EASINGTON District Council has achieved top marks for its work in tackling fly-tipping.

It reached Level 1 in its Best Value Performance Indicator for the reduction of incidents and an increase in the number of enforcement actions it took.

Incidents of dumping reduced from 473 in 2005/06 to 422 in 2006/07 while the number of enforcement actions increased from 164 to 197.

Ian Hoult, the council's environmental enforcement manager, said: "We are determined to crack down on fly-tipping and littering and have increased our enforcement activities to achieve this.

It allows vehicles believed to be carrying waste to be stopped and searched.

George Patterson, the council's executive member for liveability, said: "Residents must also take responsibility. When having jobs done, they must think about who they give their waste to.

"If they fail to use a registered carrier they too could be fined."